Rinzai came to Suiho. Suiho asked, “Where do you come from?” Rinzai replied, “From Obaku.” Suiho said, “What words does Obaku instruct his monks with?” Rinzai replied, “Obaku has no words to say.” Suiho asked, “Why do you say that he has no words to say?” Rinzai replied, “Even if he has something, there is nothing worth saying about this.” Suiho said, “Even though it is so, just tell me and let’s see.” Rinzai said, “The arrow has already passed the Western sky.”
Commentary:
When Suiho asked Rinzai what words Obaku, Rinzai’s master instructed his students with, he meant to ask Rinzai what he had learned from Obaku. Rinzai’s answer ‘Obaku has no words to say’ means that he never teaches his students with words because the Buddha’s teachings are beyond words. In order to test Rinzai once more, Suiho said, “Why do you say that he has no words to say?”, which means ‘In fact, Obaku has said a lot of words. Why do you contradict him?’ Rinzai’s answer ‘Even if he has something, there is nothing worth saying about this’ means ‘It is because even if Obaku has anything at all to teach his students, there is nothing that can be described in words. Suiho’s ‘Even though it is so, just tell me and let’s see’ means ‘Even though you are right, you are still not enlightened if you cannot reveal the true-Self with words.” Then, Rinzai responded by saying ‘The arrow has already passed the Western sky’, by which he meant, “Through my words and behaviour I have kept revealing the true-Self that Obaku doesn’t teach with words since we met, why do you ask me to tell it without discerning it?”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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